Interstate 695 (Maryland)

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Interstate 695
Auxiliary route of the Interstate Highway System

McKeldin Beltway

Length:

51.59 mi (83.03 km)

Formed:

1959

Beltway around Baltimore, Maryland

Major
junctions:

I-97 near Glen Burnie, MD

B-W Parkway near Linthicum, MD

I-95 near Arbutus, MD

US 40 near Catonsville, MD

I-70 near Woodlawn, MD

I-795 near Pikesville, MD

I-83 near Timonium, MD

I-95 near White Marsh, MD

Highways in Maryland
< MD 694		MD 700 >
State highways - Minor - Decommissioned

Interstate 695 (abbreviated I-695) is a 51.59-mile-long full beltway Interstate highway extending around Baltimore, Maryland, USA. I-695 is officially designated the McKeldin Beltway, but is colloquially known as the Baltimore Beltway. Construction began on the Beltway in 1962.

[edit] Cities and towns

Starting at the zero milepost and continuing clockwise, I-695 directly serves the following cities and towns:

Anne Arundel County:

Baltimore County:

The route also passes through the southernmost tip of the city of Baltimore for a brief duration.

[edit] Route description

[edit] Curtis Creek to I-95

A Maryland- specific trailblazer for Interstate 695

Starting at the zero milepost in Baltimore, I-695, four lanes wide, passes over a pair of drawbridges over Curtis Creek. The drawbridges have 60 feet of vertical navigational clearance, and provide access for tall ships to a Coast Guard base further upstream. Continuing west the route exits the city limits and quickly encounters the northern terminus of MD 10 at a directional interchange. The interchange includes access to the next interchange, with MD 2, a major north-south route between Baltimore and the southern suburbs; the interchange itself is in one such suburb, Glen Burnie. Beyond MD 2 the Beltway encounters I-895 Spur, a short connector to the Harbor Tunnel Thruway; beyond this interchange, the highway merges with Interstate 97, which terminates on the Beltway.

Now widened to six lanes the route continues west, traversing one of the older segments of the Beltway through Linthicum. After interchanging with MD 170 and MD 648 the route encounters the Baltimore-Washington Parkway, the first limited-access grade-separated highway between Baltimore and Washington D.C., and still a major highway. Still running west, the route exits Anne Arundel County after interchanging with MD 168, and soon encounters a partial interchange with Interstate 895.

West of this interchange, I-695 begins to turn north, interchanging with unsigned MD 891 and US 1 Alt in Arbutus before encountering Interstate 95.

[edit] I-95 to I-70

I-695 widens to an asymmetrical nine lanes within its southern semidirectional interchange with I-95; the route becomes significantly busier as through traffic wishing to avoid the Fort McHenry Tunnel toll and local traffic from the south joins the highway. Running northwest, the route partially interchanges with the mainline US 1, then interchanges with MD 372, a major suburban thoroughfare. Narrowing to a symmetrical eight lanes beyond MD 372, the route turns fully north and passes through Lochearn, interchanging with Edmonson Avenue and MD 144. Within the MD 144 interchange, I-695 narrows again to an asymmetrical seven lanes. Entering Catonsville, I-695 interchanges with US 40, another major suburban thoroughfare and the original route west out of Baltimore. Beyond US 40, I-695 encounters the new route west out of Baltimore, Interstate 70.

I-70 and I-695 interchange with each other via a symmetrical four-level stack interchange; this interchange has the dubious distinction of being underwhelmed with traffic, as I-70 east of I-695 is a stub. The Beltway narrows from seven to six lanes within the interchange, which contains braided ramps providing access to MD 122.

[edit] I-70 to I-83

I-695 on outer loop, located northwest of the City of Baltimore. Traffic: Congested

Continuing north, the Beltway, now a symmetrical eight lanes north of I-70, interchanges with MD 26 east of Randallstown; MD 26 is another major suburban thoroughfare west out of Baltimore. Curving slightly to the east, the highway soon reaches the southern terminus of Interstate 795, a bypass of MD 140 that provides through traffic with a fast route into northern central Maryland, via Owings Mills. The Baltimore Metro's line to Owings Mills passes under I-695 within the interchange and runs in the median of I-795 as far as that town.

Now turned northeast, the Beltway enters Pikesville and soon encounters MD 140 itself, another major suburban road and the former route of US 140, at a recently constructed SPUI. After a mile or so the route soon encounters another recently renovated interchange at MD 129. The Beltway soon passes through heavily forested land as it encounters Greenspring Avenue.

The segment of the Beltway between Greenspring Avenue and the Jones Falls Expressway is among the widest segments of the Beltway, with both carriageways a staggering 84 feet wide. The Maryland State Police often make good use of the 24-foot inside shoulder to station radar traps and officers, as this segment is heavily patrolled for speeders and aggressive drivers.

Beyond this wide segment, the route encounters the northern terminus of the JFX, signed as Interstate 83. The interchange includes connections to MD 25, a narrow suburban road that leads into open countryside north of Baltimore. Within this interchange, I-83 joins I-695 for 1.4 miles; the roadway widens to ten lanes, with six for the Beltway and four for I-83.

After running concurrently, I-83 splits from I-695 at a directional interchange that was originally built as a trumpet interchange. North of this interchange, I-695 remains six lanes and does not widen again.

[edit] I-83 to I-95

Beyond I-83, I-695 turns northeast and runs into Towson, interchanging with MD 139, MD 45 (formerly known as US 111) and MD 146. Now turned to the east, the Beltway runs towards Parkville, interchanging with several minor roadways, as well as another major north-south route, MD 41. Continuing east into White Marsh, the route encounters the western terminus of MD 43, a limited-access at-grade boulevard that provides access to White Marsh Mall, US 1 and I-95.

I-695 encounters the latter two routes after a short distance, interchanging with US 1 south of White Marsh and I-95 a short distance after that. The northern interchange with I-95 is a fully directional interchange with an unorthodox arrangement. Within the interchange, the carriageways of both routes cross over each other onto the opposite side, then cross over each other again; at the site of each crossover, left-hand entrance and exit ramps are provided to eliminate the need for directional flyovers. This highly unusual arrangement is not efficient and can lead to congestion due to the weaving that results.

[edit] I-95 to Curtis Creek

Continuing east, I-695 soon encounters MD 7 and US 40 northwest of Essex. MD 7 is the original route of US 40 northeast out of Baltimore; alongside I-95, US 40 is a major suburban thoroughfare that serves local interests, leaving I-95 free for longer distance traffic.

After US 40, I-695 encounters MD 702 at a partial directional interchange. At this interchange, I-695 was to have continued straight ahead, with the interchange serving a defunct route known as the Windlass Freeway. However, the straight route was canceled as an Interstate-grade freeway, forcing I-695 to turn south onto the Windlass to continue its trek around Baltimore.

Running south along the Windlass Freeway, I-695, now narrowed to four lanes, curves very sharply to the southeast, within the site of a planned interchange between the Windlass Freeway and the Patapsco Freeway. Neither route was intended to be the Beltway, but the cancellation of I-695's original route led to the current configuration, where south of the turn I-695 follows the alignment of the Patapsco, another older segment of the route. Interchanging with MD 150 and Merritt Boulevard, the route continues southeast along the Back River, interchanging with MD 151, Cove. Rd, and MD 157/MD 158 while paralleling the river. Turning sharply to the west within the MD 157/MD 158 interchange, the route runs past the Sparrows Point Industrial Complex and interchanges with unsigned MD 695 south of the Dundalk Marine Terminal. Beyond this interchange, the route widens out into a two-way toll plaza. Beyond the toll plaza, the route ascends onto the Francis Scott Key Bridge, built in 1977 as the last segment of the Baltimore Beltway.

After crossing the Patapsco River over the bridge the route touches down within the Baltimore city limits, encountering the MD 173 interchange south of Curtis Bay. Finally, the route encounters the Curtis Creek drawbridges again and resets its mileposts to zero.

[edit] Exit numbering

As opposed to the I-495 Capital Beltway around Washington, D.C., whose exit numbers are generally arranged by mileposts counterclockwise starting at the southern crossing of the Potomac River, the exit numbers for the Baltimore Beltway are arranged consecutively clockwise starting at Interchange #1 at Quarantine Rd, south of the Francis Scott Key Bridge crossing of the Patapsco River, and the only interchange in Baltimore City.

[edit] McKeldin Beltway

The Beltway was dedicated in honor of former Governor Theodore R. McKeldin in May of 2005. McKeldin was responsible for the construction of the Beltway and other state highways during his term. Most Marylanders still refer to the highway as the "Baltimore Beltway," "695," or (mostly among Baltimore metro area residents) simply "The Beltway," like its Washington counterpart.

[edit] Signage

As I-695 is a full beltway, the directions change four times. In addition, some reassurance signage indicates the inner (clockwise) or outer (counterclockwise) loop. These directional changes are at the following locations:

I-695 is signed north and east from Maryland Route 295 (the Baltimore-Washington Parkway) near Ferndale.^[1]
I-695 is signed east and south from Interstate 795 (the Northwest Expressway) near Pikesville.^[2]
I-695 is signed south and west from a point between Interstate 95 (JFK Memorial Highway) and Maryland Route 702 (Southeast Boulevard) near Essex.^[3]
I-695 is signed west and north from the area of the Key Bridge near Dundalk.^[4]

[edit] Francis Scott Key Bridge

The Francis Scott Key Bridge, a high-arcing cantilever bridge opened in 1977 as the Beltway's final link, carries I-695 over the lower Baltimore Harbor and Patapsco River, and it provides an attractive option to motorists who wish to avoid downtown Baltimore. On a clear day, the bridge is visible from downtown Baltimore and other various points in the city (particularly in the southwestern part of it). Unlike the Fort McHenry or Harbor Tunnels, HAZMAT trucks are allowed to cross the Key Bridge.

The toll bridge lies in the southeastern section of I-695, and although it was formally called the Outer Harbor Crossing, this stretch is still known as the Beltway, like the rest of I-695. The Outer Harbor Crossing was first signposted as MD 695 because it was a substandard two-lane expressway, but improvements to the road have allowed the entire Beltway to be signed as I-695.

[edit] Exit list

Exits are numbered in a clockwise (inner loop) direction, in accordance with AASHTO guidelines.

Mile	#	Destinations	Notes
50.56	1	Maryland Route 173 - Hawkins Point Road; Pennington Avenue; Fort Smallwood Road
crosses Curtis Creek (Curtis Creek Drawbridge) - mileposts reset to zero
0.93	2	Maryland Route 10 south - Severna Park	original southern terminus of - route east was signed
1.84	3A	Maryland Route 2 north - Ritchie Highway; Brooklyn ( Maryland Route 711)
2.34	3B	Maryland Route 2 south - Ritchie Highway; Glen Burnie (to Interstate 895B)
2.78	4	Interstate 97 south - Annapolis; Bay Bridge	former route of and
3.54	5	Maryland Route 648 - Baltimore-Annapolis Boulevard; Ferndale
4.02	6	Maryland Route 170 - Camp Meade Road; Linthicum; North Linthicum	outer exit and inner entrance; split into 6A (north) and 6B (south)
4.84	7	Maryland Route 295 - Baltimore-Washington Parkway; Baltimore; Washington, DC	split into 7A (north) and 7B (south)
5.22	8	Maryland Route 168 - Nursery Road; Hammonds Ferry Road ( Maryland Route 969A)
5.91	8A	Interstate 895 north - Tunnel	outer exit and inner entrance
6.14	9	Maryland Route 891 - Hollins Ferry Road; Lansdowne	is unsigned
6.83	10	U.S. Route 1 Alternate - Washington Boulevard	outer exit is combined with exit 11B
7.29	11	Interstate 95 - Baltimore; Washington, DC	split into 11A (north) and 11B (south)
8.06	12A	U.S. Route 1 - Southwestern Boulevard; Arbutus	outer exit and inner entrance
9.02	12C-B	Maryland Route 372 - Wilkens Avenue	split into 12B (east) and 12C (west) on inner loop
10.26	13	Maryland Route 144 - Frederick Road; Catonsville
10.74	14	Edmondson Avenue
11.49	15	U.S. Route 40 - Baltimore; Ellicott City	split into 15A (east) and 15B (west)
12.90	16	Interstate 70 - Frederick; Park & Ride	split into 16A (west) and 16B (east) on outer loop
13.36	17	Maryland Route 122 - Security Boulevard; Woodlawn	inner exit/outer entrance ramps braided with inner entrance/outer exit ramps from
15.90	18	Maryland Route 26 - Liberty Road; Lochearn; Randallstown	split into 18A (east) and 18B (west) on inner loop
17.70	19	Interstate 795 - Northwest Expressway; Owings Mills; Reisterstown
18.67	20	Maryland Route 140 - Reisterstown Road; Pikesville; Garrison	former route of
19.41	21	Maryland Route 129 - Park Heights Avenue; Stevenson Road
21.31	22	Greenspring Avenue
23.04	23A	Interstate 83 south - Baltimore	joins inner and leaves outer
23.04	23B	Maryland Route 25 - Falls Road (Maryland Route 25A)
24.56	24	Interstate 83 north - Timonium; York, PA	joins outer and leaves inner
25.18	25	Maryland Route 139 - Charles Street
26.20	26	Maryland Route 45 - York Road; Towson; Lutherville (Maryland Route 45A)	split into 26A (south) and 26B (north); former route of
26.82	27	Maryland Route 146 - Dulaney Valley Road; Towson	split into 27A (south) and 27B (north)
28.08	28	Providence Road
28.82	29B-A	Maryland Route 567 - Cromwell Bridge Road; Maryland Route 542 south - Loch Raven Boulevard	split into 29A (Cromwell Bridge Road - MP 28.82) and 29B ( - MP 28.99) on inner loop; is unsigned
30.05	30	Maryland Route 41 - Perring Parkway	split into 30A (south) and 30B (north)
31.19	31A-B	Maryland Route 147 - Harford Road; Parkville; Carney	split into 31A (south) and 31B (north)
31.70	31C	Maryland Route 43 east - White Marsh Boulevard; White Marsh	inner exit and outer entrance
32.82	32	U.S. Route 1 - Overlea; Bel Air	split into 32A (south) and 32B (north)
34.37	33	Interstate 95 - Baltimore; Washington, DC; New York, NY	split into 33A (south) and 33B (north)
35.56	34	Maryland Route 7 - Philadelphia Road; Rosedale
35.90	35	U.S. Route 40 - Pulaski Highway; Baltimore; Aberdeen	split into 35A (west) and 35B (east); original northern terminus of - route east was
36.25	36	Maryland Route 702 south - Essex
has no Exit 37
39.03	38A	Maryland Route 150 west - Baltimore	inner exit and outer entrance
39.03	38B	Maryland Route 150 east - Eastern Boulevard; Essex	exit 28 on outer loop
39.39	39	Merritt Boulevard - Dundalk ( Maryland Route 157)	inner exit and outer entrance
40.35	40	Maryland Route 151 south - North Point Boulevard	inner exit and outer entrance
40.35	40	Maryland Route 151 north; Maryland Route 150 west - North Point Boulevard; East Boulevard; Baltimore	outer exit and inner entrance
41.38	41	Cove Road to Maryland Route 151 - Dundalk
43.86	42	Maryland Route 151 - North Point Boulevard; Sparrows Point	inner exit and outer entrance
45.03	43	Maryland Route 157; Maryland Route 158 - Peninsula Expressway; Bethlehem Boulevard; Dundalk; Sparrows Point
46.79	44	Broening Highway - Dundalk ( Maryland Route 695A)	outer exit and inner entrance
Francis Scott Key Bridge toll plaza ($2 cars)
		Interstate 695 north - Dundalk Marine Terminal; Seagirt Marine Terminal (Maryland Route 695C)	inner exit and outer entrance; U-turn ramp to access exit 44
crosses the Patapsco River over the Francis Scott Key Bridge

[edit] Future work

This article contains information about a planned or expected future road.
It may contain information of a speculative nature and the content may change dramatically as the road's construction and/or completion approaches and more information becomes available.

At Exit 33 (I-95/John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway), both highways cross over themselves so that all through traffic is on the "wrong" side of the road, and there are left-hand entrance/exit ramps connecting the crossover sections. This will be replaced by a more conventional stack interchange, as part of the I-95 expansion project. Thus, the left-turn ramps and double crossovers will be eliminated.

[edit] History

The Beltway was first conceived as a county-level roadway project in 1949 by the Baltimore County Planning Commission. By 1953 the project was taken over by the state due to slow progress at the county level; by 1956 the project was part of the Interstate Highway System, placing the project on a fast track to completion.

However, the first parts of the Beltway to actually appear were in Anne Arundel County, when in 1951 segments between the Baltimore-Washington Parkway and Nursery Rd., and later between the former and Baltimore-Annapolis Boulevard (then signed as MD 3) were started. This segment, approximately 0.5 miles between the Parkway and Nursery Road, opened in 1952; the other segment, from the Parkway to the Glen Burnie Bypass (MD 3) was opened by 1955.^[5] Curiously, an at-grade intersection was constructed at MD 170; this intersection remained in place until the late 1960s. The first part of the Beltway to appear in Baltimore County was a segment near Towson, begun in 1955. Later that year, a 3.7-mile segment from Falls Road (MD 25) north and east to Dulaney Valley Road ((MD 146) was completed. This segment included ghost interchanges for the northern terminus of the Jones Falls Expressway, which was being studied prior to construction, and the southern terminus of the Baltimore-Harrisburg Expressway (Interstate 83), which was under construction at the time.^[5]

By 1962, the original length of the Baltimore Beltway, from Ritchie Highway in the south clockwise to Pulaski Highway in the northeast, was fully completed and opened to traffic, providing the first Interstate-grade bypass of Baltimore.

[edit] Windlass and Patapsco Freeways

At the northeastern terminus, the Beltway was planned to extend southeast along the Back River Neck peninsula, then turn south to cross the river near the Essex Skypark Airport and head towards an outer crossing of the Patapsco River. Part of this alignment was completed south of US 40 as far as MD 150 in 1972; the alignment temporarily ended at Old Eastern Avenue. Opposition from the local community led to the cancellation of this route via the peninsula in 1978, leading to the diversion of the Beltway via two freeways not planned to be part of it: the Windlass Freeway, a route planned to run from I-95 at Moravia Road northeast all the way to White Marsh, paralleling US 40 to the south;^[6] and the Patapsco Freeway, a short connector from the Windlass southeast to the Beltway. Only the segment of the Windlass between the ghost interchange (now a stub interchange) at Exit 36 south to the site of the interchange with the Patapsco (the mythical Exit 37) was constructed; within the site of the interchange, a sharp turn carries the route onto the alignment of the Patapsco, which then runs south to connect into the northern terminus of the Outer Harbor Crossing.

[edit] Outer Harbor Crossing

The Outer Harbor Crossing is the formal name given to the segment of the Beltway that is maintained by the Maryland Transportation Authority. It consists of the segment of the Beltway between Exit 42 (MD 151) and Exit 2 (MD 10), which includes the Francis Scott Key Bridge. The route was originally planned as a two-lane freeway on a four-lane right-of-way, with a 6,200-foot two-lane outer harbor tunnel across the Patapsco River. When the tunnel was advertised for construction in 1970, the bids were so high that the decision was made to construct a four-lane bridge instead. However, due to the scheduling of the project, the four-lane bridge was bounded on both sides by two-lane roadways intended to feed a two-lane tunnel. As a result, the Outer Harbor Crossing was originally designated Maryland Route 695.^[7]

The Outer Harbor Crossing, including the bridge, was formally completed on March 23, 1977, and this completed the full Baltimore Beltway. The existence of the crossing actually delayed the start of construction of the Fort McHenry Tunnel, as the state wanted to determine how traffic levels were affected by the bridge. Unfortunately, the extra mileage required to reach the Outer Harbor Crossing had little effect on the through traffic initially. By the early 1980s, however, the decision was taken to dualize the southern approach to the Key Bridge; between 1980 and 1983, a second roadway was constructed, including a second drawbridge over Curtis Creek to match the first one. The northern approach was left in its two-lane configuration until 1996, when the decline of industrial activity at Sparrows Point led to the closure of the many roads and rail lines that the two-lane freeway, built on a 3.5-mile viaduct, crossed over. With many of these roadways and rail lines redundant, a four-lane surface freeway was constructed and the interchanges reconfigured; this work was completed in January 2000.

[edit] Traffic Problems

The Beltway is known by Baltimore area residents, and often hated because of its near daily traffic congestion in many areas. Traffic jams on I-695 occur routinely on certain stretches, and are commonplace even outside of rush hour.

Some of the areas most prone to congestion are:

West side, both loops (I-95 exit 11 to Reisterstown Road exit 20)
Inner loop (exit 22 Greenspring Avenue to exit 23 I-83 south/Falls Road)
Top side (exit 25 Charles Street to exit 30 Perring Parkway)
Northeast (exit 31 White Marsh Boulevard to exit 33 I-95)

[edit] Major events

On June 8, 1999, a tractor-trailer carrying a backhoe that exceeded the maximum height requirement struck a pedestrian footbridge over the Beltway in the southwestern corner, just northwest of the Interstate 95 junction near Arbutus. The footbridge collapsed onto the inner loop of the Beltway. One driver was killed when his SUV struck the collapsed bridge; six others were injured, three critically. The incident occurred during the afternoon rush hour. The footbridge had been closed since November 1996 because of community complaints about vandalism and crime on the span.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

^ Signage for I-695 on MD 295 north and MD 295 south
^ Signage for I-695 on I-795 south
^ Signage on I-695 north at MD 702
^ Signage on I-695 north after the bridge, I-695 south approaching the bridge, I-695 west after the bridge and I-695 east approaching the bridge
^ ^a ^b Anderson, Steve. Baltimore Beltway (I-695) URL accessed 4:01, 30 January 2007.
^ Kozel, Scott. misc.transport.road: Windlass Freeway near Baltimore URL accessed 4:08, 30 January 2007.
^ Kozel, Scott. Roads to the Future: Francis Scott Key Bridge (Outer Harbor Crossing) URL accessed 4:03, 30 January 2007.

[edit] External links

	edit Auxiliary routes of Interstate 95
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